Never is a Long Time
by Shirake Hashiba
Summary: Duo thinks on his relatioship with his lover (shounen ai, semi-deathfic)


A/N: Ummm...this isn't quite a deathfic, but close enough that it probably doesn't matter I guess. (something I never thought I'd write, but listening to the song _Never is a Long Time_ I got the idea for this fic...if you want the complete lyrics to the song, they're posted in my LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/shirake)- feel free to post a comment of your own there, as long as you do it with friendly intent) This isn't meant to be a 2xR (DuoxRelena) either, it's more of a friend-type thing between them. I'm also assuming, that since Heero is supposed to be fifteen in the series, he was born fifteen years earlier, which would be 180 A.C. This hasn't been beta'd, so any and all typos/grammatical errors are entirely my own. 

Disclaimer: I do not own anything _Gundam Wing_ that could be considered a copyright violation, the same goes for the song _Never is a Long Time_ by Roxette. 

Feedback welcome!

~Shirake Hashiba~

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**Never is a Long Time**

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_Sometimes you laugh,  
sometimes you cry, and yes,  
I've cried over you.  
You've left me blind in paradise.  
You've left me hungering for the touch of you.  
Snow white angels run and hide in the blackness of the night.  
_  
_Never is a long time..._

_~Never is a Long Time~ _Roxette  


  
  
How long has it been, I wonder? Since I last saw your smile. The light in your beautiful eyes. You hated that, didn't you? When I called you beautiful. You always said boys shouldn't be beautiful, but you are. You'll always be beautiful. With a soul like yours, there's no other way.  
  
Listen to me, pining for you like some lovesick schoolgirl - or worse - Relena. Oh, I know I shouldn't say things like that...she really wasn't that bad, was she? It was just the foolish recklessness of youth...and she's grown up so much since then. When I see her, it's hard not to remember, but then she smiles, and it's like there was never anything between us.   
  
You'd be surprised, I'm sure, to know that she's one of my closest friends now. You used to put yourself between us to keep us from killing each other, and there was always that little frustrated scowl of yours. Like you weren't sure which one of us you should kill to keep the peace. The princess or the pauper.  
  
You never had to make that choice, of course. I always knew what your limits were, and when to push them. It was a knack I picked up somewhere along the way, don't ask me how. Maybe it was an intuitive thing, or maybe it was based on simple observation. I did a lot of that, when we first met, and after. Watching you, I mean. Did you ever notice?   
  
There were times that I wished you would set your laptop aside and look at me. Show me that you knew I was alive, not just a shadow on the wall. There were times I wished you didn't notice me. Times when I would have given anything for the ground to swallow me up. Times when I didn't know how to deal with my feelings for you. Times when I wanted nothing more than to run and hide, but I could never do that with you. There was something in your eyes that had a hold of me, and refused to let go.  
  
Maybe Relena felt that too? Perhaps that's why she followed you so many times, trying to understand what that inexplicable pull you had on us was. Like gravity, never letting go of what it's claimed.   
  
Nothing lasts forever. You told me that once, and those words have stayed with me. What did you mean when you said that? What was going through your mind? Nothing lasts forever.  
  
You're wrong, you know. There are things that last beyond forever. Love is one of the few things that will last forever and beyond, and one of the few things that won't fade in time.   
  
I love you. I will find you again, no matter how long it takes. The moment your soul touched mine a bond was formed between us. I will always recognize you, and I will always listen for your soul. There is no doubt, no uncertainty in my mind on this. I will find you, and we will be together again. 

**********

"Duo? We should go now."  
  
Looking up, Duo offered a soft smile to the young woman standing beside him.   
  
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" He asked, violet eyes taking in the fine lines of her face.  
  
"Yes it has."   
  
The setting sun transformed the honey-gold fall of hair into something liquid and molten.  
  
"Think he's laughing at us?"  
  
A slow, sad smile.  
  
"Probably. Knowing him, I wouldn't be too surprised."  
  
"You know...time was I never would have thought he had it in him to so much as crack a smile."  
  
"Never is a long time, Duo. Everyone changes, even me."  
  
Laughing softly, Duo got to his feet, a genuine smile on his face now.  
  
"I guess so. Though, there was that time when you - "  
  
"Duo! Don't you dare bring that up! We were teenagers, and everyone knows teenagers do stupid things."  
  
"Oh come one, Relena! You can't use that excuse for everything you did back then!"  
  
"Duo!"  
  
Taking her arm in his, Duo turned them back down the cobblestone path. Laughter and the sound of their voices drifted back to the lone grave as they walked away without a backwards glance. Engraved on the elegant marble headstone was a simple inscription:

_**Heero Yuy  
  
Friend and lover,   
Forever and Beyond.  
  
Born 180 A.C.  
  
Died 225 A.C.**_


End file.
